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Chuseok Travels: Incheon

So . . . sorry for the long wait, friends. I’ve been working through some technical issues that made it very difficult to upload pictures! Perhaps you will recall that I said in my last post that I was going to Namhae. Such was not the case . . .

That week was Chuseok, which is the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving. Turns out that it’s quite the holiday over here, and constitutes approximately 80% (unofficial statistic) of Seoul’s entire population leaving the city by bus, car, rail, and whatever other method is available. As such, it was impossible for my hiking buddy from California, Kyle, and I to secure a ticket to Namhae, which, as I may have mentioned previously, is one of the southernmost points on the peninsula. However, my roommate, Calvin (from Indonesia), Kyle and I managed to make it out to Incheon, a coastal city that is famous for being the site of Incheon International Airport as well as the landing site for General MacArthur in the Korean War, among many other things. Indeed, one of handiest things about the Soul subway is that you can take it just about anywhere in or around the city. Want to go to the countryside or the next city over? Hop on the subway! Yay!

The main gate of Incheon’s Chinatown

Although we only spent about six hours in Incheon, we were not disappointed by what was available. Immediately after exiting the station we saw a huge Chinese-inspired gate that invited our curiosity. It turns out that Incheon has a famous Chinatown, which is handily located across the street from the subway station. We began to investigate . . .

The main street in Chinatown just behind the gate.

Beyond the gate we were treated to a street full of restaurants and shops painted in the classic red and gold of popular Chinese motifs. The streets were also not busy at all, as most Koreans at the time were celebrating with their families, so getting around was very easy. To say the least, Incheon Chinatown was quite picturesque.

A picturesque park located a way back in Chinatown.

After checking out Chinatown we preceded up a hill, or rather a small mountain, that ascended behind it and found a statue commemorating Douglas MacArthur’s landing during the Korean War. Also there was a little park with an observatory where one could get a nice view of the city of Incheon.